You can purchase access to thissingle article, if you prefer.Click here to continue.

Sign up to receive Providence Business News' newsletters and breaking news alerts.

economic indicators

Payrolls rise less than forecast

MANUFACTURERS AND construction companies added the highest number of jobs in January, while payrolls in government and service industries slowed. The Labor Department reported Friday that U.S. companies added 113,000 jobs in January, short of the 180,000 advance projected by economists.

WASHINGTON – Payrolls in the U.S. rose less than projected in January as retailers cut back after the holidays and government hiring fell. The unemployment rate unexpectedly declined to 6.6 percent.

The 113,000 gain in employment followed a revised 75,000 increase the prior month, Labor Department figures showed Friday in Washington. The median forecast of economists in a Bloomberg survey called for a 180,000 advance. The unemployment rate dropped to the lowest level since October 2008 even as more Americans entered the labor force.

Retailers and government agencies cut payrolls by the most in more than a year, while construction firms and manufacturers boosted employment. Broad-based improvement in job growth is needed to help generate bigger wage gains and spur the consumer spending that accounts for almost 70 percent of the economy.

“We’re making progress but the progress is still slow,” Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Pierpont Securities LLC in Stamford, Conn., said before the report. On many fronts, “the labor market isn’t performing in a way that is satisfactory. We’ve had decent job growth but not a sustained period of strong job growth.”

Stock-index futures erased gains after the report, with the contract on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index expiring next month falling 0.3 percent to, 1,761 at 8:33 a.m. in New York.

Friday’s report showed 262,000 Americans were not at work because of inclement weather in January, little changed from the same month last year, suggesting conditions played a more limited role than in December. In the Jan. 10 release of the prior month’s data, the Labor Department had said poor weather kept 273,000 people from work, the most for any December since 1977.

Construction, manufacturing

More than half the gain in January employment came from the construction and manufacturing industries, while payrolls among service-producers slowed.

Business Women nominations are now open. Nominate women who are Leaders in their field, and Women to Watch, who have potential to be tomorrow's leaders. And, tell us of Career Achievers and Great Mentors! Deadline April 17th.

Get the most up-to-date data on the Rhode Island and southern Massachusetts business community from the PBN List Center. Download and purchase PBN Lists as well as the complete Book of Lists in Excel format.